Meng Qingluan swung her arm and swung it down hard, the feather duster landing on Li Zhanjue's shoulder.
Li Zhanjue was caught off guard by her sudden sneak attack.
Before he could even dodge, a barrage of blows rained down on him.
He couldn't very well fight back, could he? If that happened, Meng Qingluan wouldn't even like him; they'd probably end up fighting every time they met.
While dodging, Li Zhanjue questioned him with a wronged expression.
Why did you hit me?
"How dare you ask?"
Meng Qingluan hit him even harder, the last blow landing heavily on his buttocks, making his tailbone ache.
"hiss!"
Li Zhanjue clutched his buttocks with one hand, his arm against his forehead, leaning against the door frame, clenching his teeth in pain.
Meng Qingluan scoffed, threw the feather duster back into her room, tidied her hair, and walked downstairs as if nothing had happened.
As she passed Li Zhanjue, she didn't forget to bump him hard with her shoulder.
"Serves you right for disturbing my peaceful sleep."
"..."
Li Zhanjue was like a mute eating bitter melon, unable to express his suffering.
He finally understood why Shen Yan was so jealous, and why she would give him such a good opportunity to curry favor.
Meng Qingluan has a bad temper when she wakes up!
Meng Qingluan really hit hard; his buttocks are still stinging.
There's no way around it, time's almost up.
Li Zhanjue clenched his buttocks and walked downstairs in an extremely contorted posture, and as expected, he received sizing looks from the other two men.
He walked out of the inn as if nothing had happened, and to avoid being ridiculed, Li Zhanjue could only slink back to his carriage.
Meng Qingluan and the other two rode together in a carriage.
As soon as she sat down, she keenly sensed that the atmosphere seemed a little strange.
Previously, it was obvious that Shen Yan disliked Zhu Qing'an, and Zhu Qing'an was equally indifferent to him.
The two could be described as mutually disgusted.
Today was different. The two sat facing each other, not saying a word, their eyes seemingly wandering off into space.
Shen Yan even held her hand tightly, rested his head on her shoulder, and closed his eyes to rest.
Zhu Qing'an did not rest, but sat upright in his seat with his eyes slightly lowered.
Seeing him sitting alone opposite her, Meng Qingluan felt a little embarrassed and took the initiative to ask him something.
Are you feeling better?
Upon hearing her words of concern, Zhu Qing'an's lowered gaze snapped upwards, and she nodded gently.
"Ah... I feel much better, thank you for your concern, sister."
Seeing that he was still so sensible, Meng Qingluan felt both gratified and a little heartbroken.
He had clearly said that he didn't need to be so sensible, but it seems that he has been living cautiously and prudently all these years.
Why are you being so polite with me?
Meng Qingluan teased him on purpose.
To everyone's surprise, Zhu Qing'an's expression suddenly changed.
He shook his head frantically, his face paling considerably, and hurriedly explained.
“I’m not being polite to my sister, it’s just… I’m afraid she’ll think I’m being inconsiderate.”
Meng Qingluan pursed her lips, "I won't look down on you. Children should act like children, don't be so cautious."
Zhu Qing'an blinked, smiled and nodded in agreement, then asked cautiously.
"Sister, when I get better, can you promise me something? It's very important."
Before Meng Qingluan could answer, Shen Yan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them, sat up straight, and answered without giving a chance to resist.
"Can't!"
Shen Yan stared at him coldly, her wary eyes revealing a cold indifference that kept people at arm's length, as well as an undisguised hostility.
Meng Qingluan was startled by his words.
She turned her head to look at him and saw his tense jaw. He looked very nervous, constantly alert to any movement around him.
Zhu Qing'an was stunned by his roar for a few seconds, then sadly lowered her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I lost my temper. Please pretend I didn't say anything."
"...Wait a minute."
Meng Qingluan comforted him, then gripped the corner of Chen Yan's sleeve with her fingers and asked softly.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Shen Yan snapped out of his daze, realizing how reckless his actions had been, and his throat tightened.
He relaxed his shoulders as if trying to escape, turned his head away, and dared not look the person next to him in the eye, giving a stiff explanation.
"It's nothing, just a nightmare."
"..."
Meng Qingluan looked at him with concern, and seeing that he was unwilling to say more, she silently took his hand and held it in her own.
She turned her head and smiled at Zhu Qing'an.
"It's okay, just tell me, I'll fulfill any request that isn't unreasonable."
"I……"
Zhu Qing'an glanced at Chen Yan beside her, then hesitated and held back her words.
Seeing him looking at Chen Yan, Meng Qingluan spoke without hesitation.
“Your brother-in-law is just having a nightmare. He would never hold a grudge against a child. Don’t think of him as petty or bad.”
"..."
"He's only eighteen, so it's understandable that he can be a bit childish sometimes. That's because you've been rather cold towards him; he doesn't seem to have any hostility towards you. After all..."
"You are my younger brother."
Meng Qingluan explained with a smile, her words clearly and unequivocally protecting Shen Yan.
Upon hearing her blatantly biased words, Shen Yan was taken aback at first, then turned his head instantly.
His face was filled with astonishment, his lips slightly upturned, and his eyes were becoming increasingly red.
Thank you.
Shen Yan's fingers quietly circled on Meng Qingluan's palm, slowly writing the words "thank you".
Meng Qingluan felt a little itchy from his tickling, and resisted the urge to pull her hand away, feeling the words he drew in her palm.
Thanks?
She squeezed his fingers and gave him an easy answer.
Zhu Qing'an clenched her hands tightly, suppressing the bittersweet emotions welling up inside her.
She completely protected him.
Does that mean all his irrational behavior is justified in her eyes?
I was clearly the most sensible one.
He looked at her, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Sister, can you buy me a bag of candied plums as a reward for me taking my medicine obediently?"
"Can."
"Thank you, sister."
"..."
Zhu Qing'an didn't spare Shen Yanqi even a glance, yet he could clearly feel that Shen Yanqi was staring intently at him, his eyes filled with undisguised warning.
What is he afraid of?
Afraid that he might ask for her hand in marriage? He uses his illness as an excuse to marry her.
Don't worry, he won't be so stupid as to let all his efforts go to waste.
Upon hearing his request, Shen Yan felt a great weight lifted from his heart, and he silently leaned on Meng Qingluan's shoulder.
He held back the tears in his eyes for a long time, but finally managed to choke them down.
It scared him to death.
He thought she would be angry and blame him for being immature and disrespectful like a jealous husband.
The wheels kicked up snow in the North, crushing ice until all the snow on the wheels rolled off.
We've arrived in the capital.
Before Meng Qingluan could lift the curtain, she heard a series of "tap tap tap" sounds.
The sound drew closer, like some ferocious beast, and she was filled with doubt.
The carriage curtain was flung open, and two large, plump creatures burst in, knocking Zhu Qing'an aside and Chen Yan aside, before rushing into her arms.
Meng Qingluan's breath hitched, and she almost felt all the air squeezed out of her lungs.
Looking down, she saw two beautiful, pig-like heads constantly nuzzling against her chest.
In just a few days, the two fat pigs had gotten even fatter.
"Huffing and puffing—"
The beautiful woman kept rubbing against her, her steps quickening, and her eyes faintly glistening with...tears?
Meng Qingluan's heart softened, and she quickly reached out to touch the two pig heads.
"Sweetie, I've been missing you all too, don't cry."
"Huffing and puffing—"
"My darlings, you've been missing me so much you've lost weight, haven't you? Today I'll treat you to some braised pork knuckle to help you recover."
"..."
Shen Yan was almost killed by these two fat pigs. When he looked up, he saw Zhu Qing'an being slammed against the carriage wall by the beautiful Ru Hua, and was clutching her chest and coughing incessantly.
He was delighted and couldn't help but give the beautiful woman a thumbs up.
Judging from this, Ruhua is indeed a bit thin. How come she wasn't killed by that bitch Zhu Qing'an?
Zhu Qing'an felt chest tightness and shortness of breath after being hit, and her back felt numb.
Where did these two dead pigs come from?
Especially when he heard Meng Qingluan say that the two pigs had lost weight, his lips twitched uncontrollably.
Based on the size of these two pigs, they probably didn't eat more than half a meal.
Suddenly, Zhu Qing'an seemed to sense something, and her expression changed drastically.
Oh no, this is bad!
Meng Qingluan was reunited with the beautiful and lovely girl after a long separation when she suddenly felt a chill on her body.
I looked up and was dumbfounded.
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